Swiss Escape With Victory After Goal in Final Seconds

Switzerland’s Haris Seferovic after scoring the winning goal off a cross from Ricardo Rodríguez in the final minute of stoppage time in a Group E match.CreditPaul Hanna/Reuters

By The Associated Press

June 15, 2014

A goal deep in stoppage time by Haris Seferovic gave Switzerland a thrilling 2-1 victory over Ecuador in Brasília at the World Cup on Sunday.

The match, the Group E opener, looked destined to end in a draw until Seferovic, a substitute, scored from close range in the last of three minutes of injury time. Ecuador barely had time to kick off before the final whistle was blown.

“We were naïve, and that cost us the game,” Ecuador Coach Reinaldo Rueda said.

Enner Valencia gave Ecuador the lead in the 22nd minute. Switzerland tied the score in the 48th when Admir Mehmedi, another substitute, headed the ball home.

Switzerland, ranked No. 6 by FIFA and the top-seeded team in a group that also contains France and Honduras, has a young, dynamic team after being considered among the bores of the last two World Cups.

The Swiss were again disappointing in the first half Sunday, misplacing passes and hitting crosses too hard. They fell behind when Valencia guided a glancing header into the net, with Switzerland goalkeeper Diego Benaglio left completely stranded.

Switzerland did most of the attacking but could not finish, leading Ottmar Hitzfeld, the team’s experienced coach, to change things up at halftime and introduce Mehmedi for Valentin Stocker. Mehmedi had an instant influence, holding off two challengers to head in Ricardo Rodríguez’s 48th-minute corner kick.

Late in the game, Switzerland midfielder Valon Behrami made a superb tackle in his own penalty area, and then Rodríguez sent a cross low at the other end to Seferovic, who slammed the ball high into the net. Behrami, who was mobbed by as many teammates as Seferovic, said: “It was a great feeling. Those 30 seconds were amazing for us.”

Thousands of fans missed the early stages of the match because of problems at the security check, organizers said. Some fans still appeared to be filing in late in the first half.

AN ADVISER, NOT A FAN At halftime of Monday’s game against Ghana, United States Coach Jurgen Klinsmann plans to seek the advice of someone who is not even rooting for the Americans at this World Cup.

Berti Vogts, who won a World Cup with Germany as a player and a European Championship with Germany as a manager, was hired as a special adviser to the United States team this spring. He told Germany’s Rheinische Post that he would still cheer on Germany in Brazil, but he is nonetheless expected to offer counsel to Klinsmann.

Klinsmann made some surprising late changes to his coaching staff in March, reassigning his longtime assistant Martin Vasquez; Vogts was added shortly after as an adviser.

“It is a blessing because of his tremendous experience as a player and a coach,” said Klinsmann, who captained Germany under Vogts. “He will sit up in the stand; he will come down after the first half. It’s just huge value for us.” SAM BORDEN

RONALDO FEELING NO CUP PRESSURE Cristiano Ronaldo is the reigning winner of the Ballon d’Or, the award given to the world’s top player, but he has one glaring omission on his otherwise sterling résumé: He has not performed well in the World Cup.

On the eve of Portugal’s first game, against Germany on Monday, Ronaldo was asked if he needed to show something more at this World Cup than he had in his previous two.

“I don’t think I have to show anyone anything,” he said. “Look at my statistics and my résumé. I have no words for that question. I have nothing to prove. My career has been great so far, and I just want to continue.”

Ronaldo also declared himself 100 percent healthy, despite what he called typical aches and pains.

DAVID WALDSTEIN

HOSPITAL FLIGHT FOR GERMAN The German star Bastian Schweinsteiger was flown to a hospital Saturday, with a helicopter used instead of a drive across the Bahia region’s uneven roads, but he will be available for Monday’s match against Portugal, German officials said.

A Brazilian website, Radar64, said the visit was because Schweinsteiger took a knock on his left foot in training Friday. But the German Football Association insisted the hospital visit was for a routine magnetic resonance imaging test, requested by FIFA, because of his recent knee injury.

Schweinsteiger practiced Sunday. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

INJURY UPDATES Brazil striker Hulk left a training session because of a muscle injury in his left leg, but he said he expected to be ready to play against Mexico on Tuesday in his team’s second match. ... Spain’s goalkeeper David de Gea has a leg muscle strain and could miss the rest of the group stage. ... Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o (knee) missed training for a second straight day. (AP)

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D8 of the New York edition with the headline: Swiss Escape With Victory After Goal in Final Seconds. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe